A few cat questions...

@foxyfire33 (10005)
United States
August 9, 2008 1:28am CST
I just have a few questions and sorry if they sound completely stupid LOL...cat genes aren't exactly high on my interests list. First, is it unusual for cats to have brown eyes? We have several and I have never seen brown eyed cats before this and a lot of people seem to think it's strange. These are not greenish brown, they are brown, like a dog's eyes. Second, what exactly defines a calico cat? I know it's the white, black, orange combination, but do they have to be sort of spotted or is it just the appearance of all three colors and pattern doesn't matter? We have a male with all three colors but his fur is all mixed not spotted...a picture would do well here but I don't have one....and I know that male calicos are rare and it has something to do with the color combination but I don't know what qualifies as a true calico. (and he's long haired if it matters...well actually half-his mother is a short haired, his father was long haired) So any thoughts from anyone who knows anything about cats?
4 people like this
12 responses
@michelled (326)
• United States
9 Aug 08
calico cats are essentialy tri colored cats in basic shades of black ,red and white. Each color has its own seperate patches, and the colors are never blended or mixed. calico cats come in short haired or long hair. and yes male calico cats are very rare , and are nearly always sterile. So if his color are all mixed and not like patchwork , he is not a true calico cat. brown eyed cats are very rare , but it is normal, eye color is influenced by many diffrent genes one of witch is coat color.
2 people like this
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
9 Aug 08
I found some pictures on a "cat site" and compared them to him...he appears to be a tortoiseshell which is also rare like a male calico and means he is most likely sterile. We seem to have an odd mix of rare cats so I'll have to do some more research.
2 people like this
@Elkeliini (264)
• Finland
9 Aug 08
not knowledgable about cat genetics but I have never seen a cat with brown eyes. you know really BROWN. My jona has dark eyes, but they are still greenish. calico cat has to have patches of colours and each of the three colours should be about evenly represented. patterns as such dont matter, but they need to be clear spots. and indeed male calico cats are extremly rare.
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@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
9 Aug 08
I still haven't found out anything on the rarety of brown eyes but I did do a search (duh! didn't think about that before lol!) and found out that our male is a tortoiseshell...which is also as rare as a male calico (according to the one site I have found that mentioned it. I'll keep looking and see what else I find!
2 people like this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
10 Aug 08
I think if it is a long hair and not spotted it isn't a true calico. If you had one, you'd be rich! As far as the eyes, I am not 100% sure. I can't say that I have really noticed cats eyes. Our cats have green eyes, my husbands cat that lives at his moms has dark eyes, and I have seen blue - not sure about green.
1 person likes this
@sweetdesign (5142)
• United States
9 Aug 08
Interesting questions. I have two cats (outdoor kitties) and one has seafoam green eyes that I have never seen on another cat before. They are just weird. My other cat I really will have to look at him cause I can't remember the color of his eyes. My big tabby (the one with the weird eyes) is 17 pounds and like I said he is a tabby. the little cat has yellow eyes we just looked he is grey and white in coloring.
1 person likes this
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
11 Aug 08
We don't have any yellow eyes but our solid gray and white has some pretty weird green eyes too. I only have one picture of him and of course he's looking down in it! 17 pounds sounds like a huge cat! Our peach cat King seems big compared to the others but I doubt he's even close to 10 pounds.
@GardenGerty (160491)
• United States
9 Aug 08
I have known of registered or highly bred Persians to have those intense brown eyes, and that would account for the long hair as well. Usually cats do not have that dark brown eyes, in my experience. Someone else may say different. When the cat is all mixed up three colors, we call them tortoise shell, rather than calico. Again, that may just be me. What I was always told about male three color cats is that if they do occur they generally sterile, cannot reproduce. I have never had a male torty or calico. I had a female once that was white, with the black and orange spots, except that her spots were tabby striped black and tabby striped orange.
@ElicBxn (63568)
• United States
9 Aug 08
Those are techically also "torbies" since a calico is just a tortoiseshell with white. I was at a cat show where they were selecting the best kittens in the show, long and short haired. I would've called them both calicos, but the judge called them "torbies."
1 person likes this
• United States
9 Aug 08
I think my female cat, EB, is a torbie then. Or, tortoise shell cat. Her face resembles that of a calico and she has white on her neck and going up into her face. But her back is the three colors mentioned (orange not red) but it's all mixed around. With little bits of color fur here and there. But no big patches. The only big patches of one color fur is on her face and neck. For example, she has a big patch of black fur that runs up from her mouth over her nose/head and onto her back. And a patch of dark cocoa/orange color fur over one eye. And pure snow white fur under her throat and extending around her neck. She's one of the most unique cats I've ever seen. So I guess she's not a calico like I was thinking cause her body fur is all mixed up.
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
10 Aug 08
Torby and two tabbies? - Foxy with Tiger and Flower. They have a lot more striping than shows up in the photo.
I know I commented to all 3 of you last night...but those comments are nowhere to be found. I'm pretty sure our cats can not be considered registered or highly bred. The pure white father that started our whole collection may have been something special though since he was pure white and long haired...don't remember his eye color, he was never too friendly and wandered off a few months ago. Our two tricolored females are tabby striped so they sound like the one you had. Here's a picture of the mother to the male in question and two of her newest, both tabbies, I guess. Still couldn't get the male to sit for a picture...will keep trying.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63568)
• United States
9 Aug 08
Gabby, our "torby" - kindda don't think you can see the striping, but maybe you can
I have had a lot of cats and looked at even more and never seen a brown eye cat. Re: calico/tortoiseshell male cats... Lots of male tabbies seem to have 3 colors, but that is actually the ticking in the fur that gives it the appearence. If the colors can't be clearly defined as "red" (orange/buff) and "black" (black/blue grey/brown). If your cat really is a tortoiseshell then he is genetically an "XXY" instead of a normal "XY". Is it your male that has the brown eyes as well? The genetics might be explaining why he does then. What causes the tortie coloring is because the "red" gene is carried on the "X" chromosone. That is why 80% of all "red" (orange/buff) cats are male. When a female is only carring 1 "red" on her "X" that allows the "black" to show thru and you get a tortoiseshell - a calico is a tortoiseshell with white. Now, both of my torties look "brown", one is a "torby" that means you can see the tabby striping in her patchs. I hope this helps some more.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160491)
• United States
9 Aug 08
Maybe you can tell me, what do you call a calico who has stripes in her spots, I had one of those once, and we named her Camouflage.
1 person likes this
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
10 Aug 08
I'll have to try to get him to sit for a picture tomorrow. I'm thinking he is a tortie, while two of our females are torbies...they definitely have some pronounced striping but I don't think the male does. The kittens with brown eyes come from the 2nd batch of the adult female torby (with a solid gray and white father) and her only female from her 1st batch (gray and white, unknown father). I believe but it's hard to keep track there are 2 from each batch with brown eyes. The adult torby is the mother of the tortie...in that same batch there was a male that is solid cream (although the cream is so dark he looks peach). Now the youngest kittens (from the gray and white and unknown father) include three females that are tricolored-white, peach and gray. Some spotty, some more striped. They are long haired and only 6 weeks old so it's hard to really tell their true patterns, they're just fluff balls at the moment.
1 person likes this
• India
20 Aug 08
I have no clue to these cat questions Foxy.. haha.. i am goofed up...haha.. I wondered how you could have such a knowledge on cats.. Instead of clarifying your doubts this topic has made me to learn something new. Thanks a lot. Have fun friend.
@theprogamer (10534)
• United States
17 Aug 08
About the eyes Foxy, its possible the genetic combination for the eyes resulted in a brownish color. Its also possible the pigmentation for the eyes is weaker than it ought to be. Well it could also be hyperpigmentation too in the eyes, but overall its another reason for the different color. I know this due to a few encounters with heterochromia in eyes (cats and dogs have this along with people). Copper color eyes are also possible in cats (which could be seen as brown depending on the observer).
@Ceciliah (56)
• Canada
13 Aug 08
Hi this is the second time I have written this as I forgot to sign in. A brown eyed cat is unusual but may come from a history of a brown eyed gene or a mix from a purebred cat and some of them have very strange eye colorings. My black Persian had eyes the color of a pumpkin beautiful orange eyes. A calico cat is a female cat with blotches of white, bright orange, and usually black as a second color. They only come in females, but if by chance you get a male they are always sterile and usually not to healthy. Of course sometimes one will be healthy, but they are always sterile. A tortoiseshell cat is another type of all female cats with three colors but no white and not big blotches but small and lots of times tabby which makes them a torby. Are you confused yet? My cat Maggie was born with all the tortoiseshell markings but some white, the vet marked her down as a Torby because she was so close to the tortoiseshell if she got lost people would automatically assume she was a tortoiseshell. A tortoiseshell is also very bossy and quite often the queen of the pride as in Maggie's case. They are wonderful hunters and use to sell for 1 pound 100 years ago because of their ability to blend in to the surroundings. 1 pound a hundred years ago was a lot of money, but when I use to let Maggie out she caught a rat, mouse or bird everyday. Sometimes I would be calling her and she would be just in front of me and I could not see her till she moved or meowed. If you want to see picture's of them look them up on the web and it will show the difference between the two. An orange cat use to be only male but our strong female genes took over and now there are females too and they are not sterile. Well I have confused you enough, just remember bright orange is always on both of these types of cats, not tan, and they are female. ceciliah
@fifileigh (3615)
• United States
10 Aug 08
i am sure there are brown eyed cats out there, but i rarely see them. i have problem seen a few in the past somewhere. i am not an expert on cats...they all look alike to me..
• United States
10 Aug 08
i cant remember any brown eyed cat.. the closest thing i have seen is golden or black eyes so i think ya got yourself a rare cat!!
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
10 Aug 08
Hey foxy, I thought I knew alot about kittys until you asked this question. Now I don't really know the difference between a calico and tortoise! What I do know is that I've had 5 cats in my life and not one had brown eyes and I've never seen a cat that had them. My cats had either green or yellow eyes. Maybe different shades of green or yellow, but no brown. If I find anything out I will get back to you. I have a gf that knows so much about cats (about everything actually). I will check with her and see what she has to say. She's the one who got me my 2 cats that I have now and I am forever grateful to her because they are the loves of my life!